Admirers of the arts crowded into the loft above Behind the Glass on Magnolia Avenue Friday evening for the Layman Group's season premiere, "Reveal."
"This is the first time I've shown my art in a show sense," said Kristi Dallen, whose exhibit headlined the evening.
Titled "Uncle Walt," the exhibit featured poetry from Walt Whitman's "Leaves of Grass" set to illustrated story boards. Attendees walked through the exhibit frame-by-frame, like a maze.
"This is her first real exhibition piece," said Vicky Anton, associate art director for the Layman Group, "and it's huge for her because she is such a great artist, and she needs to be shown to the world."
Dallen's work was well-received by attendees, who were impressed by the up-and-coming arts group.
"There's nothing like it in Auburn," said Pam Evans, who attended the event with her friends to support the group. "A lot of people in the South don't really take notice of the arts and artistic impression, and I like that the Layman Group is doing that."
The Layman Group also used the night to pitch its upcoming season, which will feature a play and performances by its dance production company, "Geste."
Attendees perused the art and enjoyed impromptu performances by the group's founder and executive artistic director, Doc Waller.
Waller will be starring in the three-man play aptly named "Art," by Yasmina Reza.
He will share the stage with Mike Leigh, senior in theatre, and Dusty Mitchell, 2010 theatre graduate.
"The play is about different aspects of friendship," Leigh said. "When I go see a play, I usually get a response from it because I can relate to it. And friendship is something everyone can relate to."
Leigh said the three are getting to know each other and building on-stage chemistry that will work to produce an intimate performance for what is hoped to be a large audience.
"There's not much stage direction in the writing," Mitchell said. "It's a blank canvas, and it all comes down to how much you can dig into it."
The show will premiere Oct. 28 and run the following two nights.
Leading up to the show and beyond, the Layman Group will continue to work on building community support.
As a nonprofit organization, the Layman Group's work cannot be done without strong financial backing from local individuals and businesses.
"We hope the business community is going to rally around and support the Layman Group," said Liz Borg, a member of the Auburn Chamber of Commerce and the board of directors for the Layman Group. "When you are in a tough economy, the arts is the first thing that suffers, and it shouldn't be, because they are a critical part of everyday life."
One of the messages the group hopes to convey to the Auburn community is the openness of the group.
"A lot of arts organizations have that Wizard of Oz thing going on, where you can't really see what's going on behind the scenes to get involved," Waller said. "We just want to tell people we are here, we are open, we're talking, and we're laughing."
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